As a new amateur radio operator, I have not purchased a home base station rig. I am still researching I love you and trying to figure out how much of a home baby station I would like to purchase and what are my requirements.

Problem

With that being and I still want to be able to listen in on the Nets and talk to other people around my area.

I have been using handy talkies for the last few months and have found that given my region I am regularly in contact with repeaters that are over 7 to 8 miles away.

This is fantastic because it is a quick and easy way to get into the hubby from home. I was thinking that I needed to purchase some large antennas and or a base station that would cost upwards of $1000.

Solution

Instead unable to use one of my cheaper handy talkies, in this, case the Yaesu VX-6R. But this would also work for a Baofeng (I also have the GT-5r) or something similar. And all of these Handy Talkies are able to reach the repeaters without issue even within my home and with the windows closed. I did have to purchase new antennas and figure out a way that I could get the Handy Talkie to stand up on its own. In this article, I’ll show you the 3-D printed stand which I found online and printed out with them in a few hours. I also recently purchased a waterproof handheld microphone that allows me to use the HT without removing it from the stand.

Benefits of this setup

• I can quite easily take the HT with me on a walk or around the house. (Something that is more challenging with a base station rig)
• Allows me to charge an extra battery for my HT while it is in use on the 3D-printed cradle.
• The 3D printed cradle is substantial enough so that I can connect an external magnetic mount antenna that is stuck to a filing cabinet in my office.
• Setup encourages me to cycle the batteries and use them till they are dead and have a spare to swap out when needed.

Cons of this setup

• I had to add some sticky feet to the 3D-Printed cradle so that it would not slide across my desk
• Does not charge while in the 3D-printed cradle, but that is more a limitation of the radio and not the cradle.
• I cannot easily use a battery eliminator unless I modify the stand and set up a power source.

Materials

• Handy Talkie (Yaesu VX-6R in this case)
• New antenna (Diamond RHF40 Tri-band in this case, but I would strongly recommend a SignalStuff Signal Stick)
• (Optional) SignalStuff Mag Mount to give the antenna a larger ground plan for a bit more reach
• Desktop 3D-printed Cradle
• Remote speaker microphone to make the setup work a bit better
• Sticky feet to keep the HT from sliding across the desk

Conclusion

And many people are in a heavy rush to purchase their first base station but with this solution, I am able to participate as a newly minted ham while figuring out my use case.

At the moment I’m trying to decide between an Icom 7300 and a Yaesu 891.